Hard Rock Hotel To Open On Sentosa In 2010

Source : The Business Times, March 27, 2009

A HARD Rock Hotel will be one of four hotels to open at Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) in the first quarter of 2010.

Collectively, the four hotels will provide about 1,350 rooms. The other three slated to open in Q1 2010 are Maxims Tower, Hotel Michael and Festive Hotel.

'The Hard Rock Hotel Singapore is a welcome addition to our portfolio,' said Hard Rock International's CEO Hamish Dodds.

The five-star, US$223 million hotel will have 360 rooms, conference facilities and a ballroom that can seat up to 7,300.

Room rates are likely to be 30 per cent dearer than hotels in the surrounding area, as is usually the case with hotels in other theme parks, said RWS chief executive Tan Hee Teck.

Mr Dodds acknowledges the travel slump sparked by the global economic downturn has hit hotel room rates and occupancy levels, but is confident the Hard Rock brand will outperform its competitors in the four to five-star category.

Hard Rock International, which now has 124 Hard Rock Cafes and nine hotels/casinos, is expanding in the US and overseas.

Major projects are on the way in Macau and Penang - scheduled to open this year - as well as in Palm Springs, Atlanta and Panama in 2010. Hard Rock Hotels will also open in Dubai in 2011 and Abu Dhabi the following year.

Despite the tough economic environment, Hard Rock International grew its top and bottom lines last year. Top line was up 7-8 per cent, said Mr Dodds, who declined to reveal figures.

The $6.59 billion RWS project will have a total of 1,800 rooms spread over six hotels, plus a casino and attractions such as South- east Asia's only Universal Studios theme park.

The project expects to generate more than 9,000 jobs by the end of this year and a total of 10,000 when it is fully up and running. It expects 15 million visitors in its first year.